Netcode

How it is used

Players and reviewers judge netcode as good or bad, especially in fighting games and shooters. Developers discuss rollback netcode, delay-based netcode and how much data to send per tick.

Example sentences

1. The game is fun, but the netcode makes long-distance matches unplayable.

2. Switching to rollback netcode was the biggest improvement after launch.

Common collocations

• rollback netcode
• bad netcode
• netcode programmer
• improve the netcode

Related terms

• latencyThe time it takes for data to travel between a player's device and the server or another player, usually measured in milliseconds. High latency makes online games feel slow.
• lagA noticeable delay between a player's action and the game's reaction, usually caused by a slow or unstable network connection, which makes the game feel jumpy.
• client-side predictionA netcode technique in which the player's own device shows the result of their input immediately, before the server confirms it, and corrects it later if the server disagrees.
• tick rateHow many times per second a game server updates the game state and sends it to players, measured in hertz. A higher tick rate makes online play more precise.
• authoritative serverA server that has the final say on what happens in an online game: players send their inputs, and the server decides the real results, which makes cheating harder.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• netcode · Software Engineering

More terms: Multiplayer & Networking

• multiplayer
• dedicated server
• matchmaking
• lobby